Heavy-duty trucks typically include a chassis, an engine engaged on the chassis, a radiator and grill mounted on the chassis in front of the engine, a hood for enclosing the engine, and a cab mounted on the chassis. It is often desirous to have an air suspension system or other suitable system that allows the cab to move independently of the chassis to provide the driver and passengers with added comfort. More specifically, the cab normally moves fore and aft and up and down relative to the chassis in response to changing conditions on the road.
Depending on the type of hood used, the hood may be mounted at its forward end to either the radiator or the forward end of the chassis, and the hood may be mounted at its rear end to a portion of the cab. For instance, a butterfly hood, which consists of two or more panels hinged at the center to allow engine access, is typically fixedly mounted to the cab at its rear end and fixedly mounted to the radiator at its forward end. Fixed connections between the chassis and the cab (through the hood) prevent the fore and aft cab movement and the up and down cab movement required of the cab suspension system. Thus, it is desirous to have a hood mounting system that secures the hood to the cab in a manner that accommodates the movement of the cab relative to the hood and chassis.